Work of art ? Perhaps.

A work of art that functions as advertised ? Not from what I see in the DB. A car that is touted at 60/51, yet returns real-world results to the 99% percentile in the area of 46-48. Similar deltas for the Highlander and LX400h, from what I see ?

Meanwhile, I look at the Honda cars, and they're very close to what's advertised, with a simpler, cheaper solution, that's just about as clean (or cleaner ?) than it's main competitor. I do know for a fact that HMC's fleet pollutes less than TMCs - that's indisputable. If it weren't for the Prius bringing up the numbers, TMC would probably have a lot higher average on the smog index than they do (500K PZEV cars sold tends to sway the average a bit).


Yes, I know about the Prius marathon. Commendable, but under very tightly controlled conditions, one would have to agree - including the selection of drivers, not to mention the course taken. People in general don't drive in 'laboratory-like' conditions, and they don't drive down the same stretch of road back and forth all day. But enough about that - this post isn't intended to attack those individuals.
It is sad, however, to see a Honda-phile go over to the 'dark side'. Weaker, the Force has become...

Speaking of the db, I see that someone has posted a 500+ mpg average into the Prius II section as of 12/17, conveniently raising the fleet average of that car. Since that is a physical impossibility, even by Xcel's capabilities, I would expect a correction would be posted, either by the 'member', or by the moderators. But I bet it doesn't, and I bet we see a few more of these, as the HCH-II gets closer and eventually surpasses the Prius' fleet average (yes, you read that right).

Yes, I'm wearing my tinfoil hat right now. Correct the anomaly, and I'll issue an apology. Until then...quid pro quo